The present invention relates generally to a workstation. More specifically, the invention relates to a collapsible workstation.
There is an increasing need for work environments which can be configured and reconfigured, particularly for the temporary user and temporary work groups. Consequently, there is an increasing need for workstations which make up a temporary work environment.
For example, temporary employees or contractors are increasingly called upon to perform functions either at an employer's normal place of business or at a remote location. These functions may involve secretarial, accounting, auditing, or financial assistance during certain times of the year. In another situation, a team of employees may be required to work off-site at, for example, a supplier's manufacturing facility or a remote manufacturing, engineering or design facility. In still other situations, a project team from a related business or subsidiary may be temporarily required to work with another engineering or marketing project team.
The rise in the number of employees spending an amount of time away from a permanent office setting is another trend increasing the need for temporary workstations. For example, sales and marketing personnel who spend a large portion of their time on the road may not require a permanent office or workstation. Therefore, there is an increasing need for a temporary workstation for an employee making temporary or short term office visits.
Work at home professionals telecommuting between their home and office is another general trend driving the need for a temporary workstation. Typically, the telecommuter communicates with the office via the telephone, facsimile, electronic mail or pager. As the number of telecommuting employees increases, it would be desirable to support telecommuters with a home workstation which is generally uniform in its features and communications capabilities.
One solution for providing a workstation for these and other types of temporary users is to redesign an existing workplace. Sometimes, the existing workplace has vacant space available while at other times, the existing workplace is at full capacity. In either situation, the workplace is usually reconfigured by providing additional worksurfaces, utilities, structures, walls, etc. to create the temporary workstations. Consequently, the installation and/or reconfiguration often requires costly redesign and may interrupt the existing work environment and/or work flow.
Further problems may arise where the proposed temporary work environment has inadequate facilities. For example, if a user wishes to set up a temporary workplace in her home, at the home office or in a hotel room, utilities such as a phone system, extra data lines, copiers, computers, video monitors, printers, etc. may not be accessible. In other situations, for example, where the temporary workstation user will be located on a manufacturing floor, installing the appropriate utilities may not be cost effective.